Would we have received
Him? Would we have recognized Jesus as the long-awaited King?

Two
thousand years ago, the masses neither believed nor accepted Him. Seeking
an earthly kingdom ruled by a human king, some stretched His words to
fit their vision. Others sought to kill Him. The reason? He made pseudo
"good" people feel bad, for His message exposed their sin.

"...the
light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light...."
John 3:19

Through the centuries,
religious leaders have often added the name or promises of Jesus to
their self-made paths to peace. The marketing message of the popular
Christian painter Thomas Kinkaide -- probably written by professional
advertisers rather than Mr. Kinkaide himself -- shows the growing acceptance
of such spiritual synthesis today:

"My
newest work, A Prayer for Peace, is a poignant reminder that peace in
our world is always possible for those who believe and pray. The dramatic
figure of a prophet occupies the rocky heights above the city. To my
mind, he is a Christ figure, but I have treated him with a deep spirituality
that could well be embraced
by people of other beliefs. Illuminated by a radiant moon, this
holy person prays... that the warm glow of moonlight can wrap the walled
city in a spiritual blanket of serenity."[1]

Would the true
Jesus point to "glow of moonlight" as a source of peace? Would His true
followers respect other gods and gurus as "holy?" Would our Lord, who
prayed "Thy
will be done," pray such a prayer as that?

As the curtain
falls on the "Christian" era in the West, the timeless divide between
God's Light and the world's false glow becomes more visible. And no
month better illustrates this hostility toward Jesus than December.

Those who envision
global peace through social engineering can't tolerate any signs of
the new-born king. Kwanzaa and winter solstice may fit, but Bethlehem's
manger must be banned from public view. That ban is now being stretched
to include non-Christian symbols such as Christmas trees, Santa, Rudolph...
even red and green colors.

An article titled,
"Santa
Claus Deemed Too 'Religious' for School Fundraiser," quotes an angry
parent who accused the local elementary school of breaking the law by
featuring Santa Claus, a "religious" figure. "I look forward to sponsoring
an event that is within the law and inclusive of all," the offended
parent wrote in her letter to the superintendent. "'This is not an argument
about religion; it is about the
law of our land."[2]

In a world that
trusts feelings more than facts, this absurd argument makes sense. It
illustrates the attitude of those who despise the slightest reminder
of that Holy Night long ago. But we shouldn't be surprised. God warned
us that the world would have little tolerance for His truth and followers:

"If
you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you
are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the
world hates you.... If they persecuted Me they will persecute you...
for they do not know the One who sent Me." (John 15:19-21)

Those who "do not
know" Him can't understand why He came. Many consider the gospel a myth
and the cross an outrage. Having rationalized sin and justified their
compromise with immorality, they dismiss His death and resurrection.
Their quest for "peace" demands denial of His Truth.

TWO KINDS OF
PEACE

Many Old Testament
prophets foretold the birth of Jesus and His indescribable peace. "For
Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given," wrote Isaiah centuries
before Christ was born. "His name shall be Wonderful, Counselor, The
mighty God, The everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase
of his government and peace there shall be no end. " Isaiah 9:6-7

�Glory to God in
the highest," sang the angels who announced His birth. "And on earth
peace, goodwill toward men!� (Luke 2:14)

Yes, through the
cross, there would be "peace on earth" -- a peace that far exceeds the
shallow illusions of blinded idealists. God's joyful angels proclaimed
a heavenly peace for all who welcomed the King into their lives. Reigning
in their hearts, He would establish His spiritual Kingdom
on earth -- in and through His own people living as "pilgrims and
sojourners" in a corrupt world.

That may sound
strange to those who share the vision of global
solidarity. But remember the question Jesus asked His confused,
earth-focused disciples: "Do you suppose that I came to give peace on
earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division." (Luke 12:51)

The world still
despises this division. Wanting peace and unity on its own terms, it
calls for pluralism, inclusiveness, an end to the stigma
of sin, and tolerance for all that God calls wrong. The British
article, "Whose
Country Is It?" illustrates the deception:

"In
recent times we have increasingly seen officialdom trying desperately
not to offend minorities at Christmastime. Reacting to their need for
political correctness, supposedly to encourage inclusiveness but actually
creating divisions and dissent, the imposition of attitudinal fascism
by officials at Christmas is even more nasty than usual. Schools and
councils hold festivals to celebrate (if that is the right word) multiculturalism.
Holly and Christmas trees are banned, even though they have their origins
in pagan celebrations of the winter solstice. The carol service becomes
a multicultural concert...."[3]

Today's high tech
media and rejection of absolute truth (the anchor of our faith) speeds
this transformation. The pragmatic ("whatever works") attitude taught
by the emerging, purpose-driven movements reject Biblical discernment
as divisive. Pastor Rick Warren's "close friend" Sen.
Barack Obama, made the following statement at the �Building a Covenant
for a New America� conference last June:

�Democracy
demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into
universal, rather than religion-specific, values.... It requires that
their proposals be subject to argument, and amenable to reason.... Now
this is going to be difficult for some who believe in the inerrancy
of the Bible, as many evangelicals do. But in a pluralistic democracy,
we have no choice.�[4]

TRUE PEACE

Actually, we do
have a choice: to deny Him or to follow Him. The latter may cost us
our jobs, friends, freedom, and worldly acceptance. But through the
centuries, His faithful friends have gladly given their all to follow
Him. Loving Him more than the world, they faced imprisonment, torture,
and cruel death. But the peace of His presence was worth the pain of
persecution.

A Jewish girl in
Nazi Germany discovered this wonderful truth when she learned to trust
Jesus. Anita Dittman tells her amazing story in the book, Trapped
in Hitler's Hell:

"It
was 1933... I couldn't come home after school without suffering a stoning
or a beating.... And this was just the beginning of what would be a
twelve-year nightmare -- twelve years of waiting for a knock on the
door from the Gestapo; for a loved one to be dragged away by the hair
or the beard to points unknown; for a boxcar ride, to be jammed in with
hundreds of frightened, weeping people on their way to a death camp;
or for a merciful bullet to end it all. Among those unfortunate Jews
I was to be one of the few with a real home. I would come to know Jesus
who was to offer peace in the midst of the turmoil. After all, wasn�t
He the Prince of Peace?"[5]

Indeed He is! And
to Anita, one of the highlights of those horrible years was Christmas
1944. By now a skeletal teenager struggling to survive unthinkable labor
on a starvation diet in a Nazi work camp, she rejoiced in an unthinkable
gift: She and a few other Christians were given permission to celebrate
Christmas Eve in a nearby village church. A guard would go with them,
so they prayed that the truth about Christ would touch his cold heart.

"To war-weary
Christian prisoners who loved Jesus, this was the best news in months,
perhaps years.... Twenty of us trudged over the snow-covered hills
and meadows that night to a little country church.... The snow was
falling lightly....

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"That night we
huddled in the little church with a hundred or more of the farmers
and townspeople. We sang Christmas carols and praised the Lord until
well after midnight. As we read the Christmas story, we were reassured
that Jesus knew our every ache because He also had been a man and
had experienced human grief. In the dim candlelight we all gathered
at the altar on our knees and prayed for Germany and our separated
families; the guard stood careful watch in the doorway. Then we trudged
home in the moonlight, for the snow had stopped falling."[6]

Berit
Kjos is a widely respected researcher, writer and conference speaker.
A frequent guest on national radio and television programs, Kjos has been
interviewed on Point of View (Marlin Maddoux), The 700 Club, Bible Answer
Man, Beverly LaHaye Live, Crosstalk and Family Radio Network. She has
also been a guest on "Talk Back Live" (CNN) and other secular
radio and TV networks. Her last two books are A Twist of Faith and
Brave New Schools.Kjos
Ministries Web Site: http://www.crossroad.to/index.html

Two
thousand years ago, the masses neither believed nor accepted Him. Seeking
an earthly kingdom ruled by a human king, some stretched His words to
fit their vision. Others sought to kill Him. The reason? He made "good"
people feel bad, for His message exposed their sin.